Article Three:
The third and final thing I want to write about for this assignment is the idea of conforming to the image of the world, rather than conforming to the image of Christ. I think this is an issue that my generation really struggles with – and something that is becoming a real danger to our churches today. As more of the world seeps in, more of Christ seeps out.
There are so many examples of this among young adults and teenagers in our churches – ‘fellowship’ nights that are beginning to include drunkenness, Christians that are wrongly citing the passage of ‘becoming all things to all men’ to justify using profanity, engage in impure relationships, etc. Simply put, it is when a Christian begins to compromise.
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Our goal is to become more like Christ, not the world. As the church, we were called out of the world! Yes, we must still live in it, but shouldn’t non-Christians at least be able to tell who we are?
John says in 1 Jn. 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
Kingdom people should be about kingdom business. We can convert the lost without conforming to the pattern of the world. It’s surely a lot less confusing to them that way! I know it is difficult to be counter-cultural – I particularly struggled with this in high school. But I believe that our generation has the passion and love for God that could bring about a true restoration in the church today! Let’s try to be counter-cultural and follow Paul’s advice to Timothy: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12).
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Commission to Submission
Article Two:
Each of us has convictions, doctrines and opinions in our lives that we are passionate about. These are things we hold to and I fully recognize the importance and necessity of these, which define who we are and what we seek. We also have goals, vision and pursuits that truly matter to us and God as we strive to serve Him on this earth. These things are vital. But what role does submission play in these areas of our lives?
This has truly been on my heart lately as I seek transformation into Christ’s likeness. I see the attitude of submission as a key part of Christ’s life. And yet so often, it is downplayed in my own life – or even nonexistent. Submission to God and submission to others was something Christ portrayed on a regular basis. Christ sought out God’s will for his life in each situation, often removing himself to the Garden to spend time with God alone to discern it. The most vivid of these scenes in my mind of course comes from Matthew 26:36-46, when Christ prays an agonizing prayer to let the cup of death pass from him. What a prayer of sheer humanity! And yet, the end of Christ’s prayer is what really stops me. He prays, “Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Christ as a man didn’t want to suffer on that cross, but Christ as the Son of God was willing to submit himself to God’s will and die for the salvation of mankind.
As a child of God, what am I willing to submit myself to God for? Am I willing to do it when suffering could result? What about on a daily basis – am I willing to submit in the small things of life? If it involves my convictions, opinions, goals and pursuits in life, what then? Far too often, submission isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.
We are commanded to submit to God (James 4:7) and to others out of reverence to Him (Eph. 5:21). I am praying for a spirit of submission like this – the kind that Christ had in the Garden. I know I am a far cry away from it, but I also know that the power of God can work within my life. I pray that you will consider whether you also require growth in having a spirit of submission. Are you submitting to God in your decisions and pursuits? Are you submitting to your family on a daily basis? And for the ladies – are you specifically submitting to your husbands? (Eph. 5:22). I think this involves a degree of humility that is completely counter-cultural to our world. It is an attitude that says Christ is sitting on the throne of my heart and others come before self (Phil. 2:3).
Each of us has convictions, doctrines and opinions in our lives that we are passionate about. These are things we hold to and I fully recognize the importance and necessity of these, which define who we are and what we seek. We also have goals, vision and pursuits that truly matter to us and God as we strive to serve Him on this earth. These things are vital. But what role does submission play in these areas of our lives?
This has truly been on my heart lately as I seek transformation into Christ’s likeness. I see the attitude of submission as a key part of Christ’s life. And yet so often, it is downplayed in my own life – or even nonexistent. Submission to God and submission to others was something Christ portrayed on a regular basis. Christ sought out God’s will for his life in each situation, often removing himself to the Garden to spend time with God alone to discern it. The most vivid of these scenes in my mind of course comes from Matthew 26:36-46, when Christ prays an agonizing prayer to let the cup of death pass from him. What a prayer of sheer humanity! And yet, the end of Christ’s prayer is what really stops me. He prays, “Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Christ as a man didn’t want to suffer on that cross, but Christ as the Son of God was willing to submit himself to God’s will and die for the salvation of mankind.
As a child of God, what am I willing to submit myself to God for? Am I willing to do it when suffering could result? What about on a daily basis – am I willing to submit in the small things of life? If it involves my convictions, opinions, goals and pursuits in life, what then? Far too often, submission isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.
We are commanded to submit to God (James 4:7) and to others out of reverence to Him (Eph. 5:21). I am praying for a spirit of submission like this – the kind that Christ had in the Garden. I know I am a far cry away from it, but I also know that the power of God can work within my life. I pray that you will consider whether you also require growth in having a spirit of submission. Are you submitting to God in your decisions and pursuits? Are you submitting to your family on a daily basis? And for the ladies – are you specifically submitting to your husbands? (Eph. 5:22). I think this involves a degree of humility that is completely counter-cultural to our world. It is an attitude that says Christ is sitting on the throne of my heart and others come before self (Phil. 2:3).
Family and Youth Class
For my Family and Youth Ministry class, I am assigned to write three web-logs on issues affecting family and youth in the church. Hope you enjoy them! Feel free to comment.
Article One:
“Unity of the Faith”
Lately, I have really been thinking about the fact that God gave us various spiritual gifts for the purpose of unity. In Eph. 4:11ff, it says he gave us various roles/gifts for a specific purpose – “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…” Paul goes on to say that we are to grow up into Christ, our head, from whom we are all held together. When each part is working properly, it makes the body grow and build itself up in love. I don’t know about you, but this is a hefty consequence of my using or not using the spiritual gifts God has given me! It’s quite a sobering realization!
Basically, when the body of Christ is functioning as it should – making full use of the spiritual gifts God gave us – we build the church up to unity, maturity and growth! And of course we know from Paul’s prayer in Eph. 3 that we do that through the power of God through his Spirit within. The question is… am I using my spiritual gift and yielding to the process of growth in those areas from the Spirit? And am I encouraging the use of spiritual gifts in those around me (particularly in families and youth striving to be more like Christ and have more involvement in the body)?
I think answering these questions is going to take a lot of prayer, submission to God’s will in my life, spending time in the Word of God to seek growth in my areas of giftedness and consciously making an effort to encourage giftedness in others! I was made keenly aware of this during our team’s MRN training this past week and have been more thoughtful about it since.
For an idea of various spiritual gifts, see Romans 12:6-8. It’s interesting to note that even giving is a spiritual gift! Surely all of us can pursue that at the very least! And at the most, pursue things God has blessed us with natural talents and passions for to benefit his body and help others grow in maturity and unity! My prayer is that you consider your spiritual gifts this week – and encourage the ones you see in others. You may want to take a free giftedness test online – http://www.churchgrowth.org/analysis/intro.php.
Article One:
“Unity of the Faith”
Lately, I have really been thinking about the fact that God gave us various spiritual gifts for the purpose of unity. In Eph. 4:11ff, it says he gave us various roles/gifts for a specific purpose – “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…” Paul goes on to say that we are to grow up into Christ, our head, from whom we are all held together. When each part is working properly, it makes the body grow and build itself up in love. I don’t know about you, but this is a hefty consequence of my using or not using the spiritual gifts God has given me! It’s quite a sobering realization!
Basically, when the body of Christ is functioning as it should – making full use of the spiritual gifts God gave us – we build the church up to unity, maturity and growth! And of course we know from Paul’s prayer in Eph. 3 that we do that through the power of God through his Spirit within. The question is… am I using my spiritual gift and yielding to the process of growth in those areas from the Spirit? And am I encouraging the use of spiritual gifts in those around me (particularly in families and youth striving to be more like Christ and have more involvement in the body)?
I think answering these questions is going to take a lot of prayer, submission to God’s will in my life, spending time in the Word of God to seek growth in my areas of giftedness and consciously making an effort to encourage giftedness in others! I was made keenly aware of this during our team’s MRN training this past week and have been more thoughtful about it since.
For an idea of various spiritual gifts, see Romans 12:6-8. It’s interesting to note that even giving is a spiritual gift! Surely all of us can pursue that at the very least! And at the most, pursue things God has blessed us with natural talents and passions for to benefit his body and help others grow in maturity and unity! My prayer is that you consider your spiritual gifts this week – and encourage the ones you see in others. You may want to take a free giftedness test online – http://www.churchgrowth.org/analysis/intro.php.
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